In the summer of 2012, another epidemic caused by a novel coronavirus broke out in the Middle East. The disease, often complicated with respiratory and renal failure, was called Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), while the novel coronavirus causing it was called Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Although a coronavirus, it is not related to the coronaviruses previously described as human pathogens. However, it is closely related to a coronavirus isolated from dromedary camels and bats, which are considered the primary reservoirs, albeit not the only ones (8,12).